Star Trek: Arachnaphobia
by BballGalKaitlin
Summary: Captain Kirk and Spock must defeat a huge spider that's killing civilians on the planet of Peritis VI, while Dr. McCoy suffers from a heat stroke, and Scotty is forced to become a medical caretaker for him, when teleportation back to the ship becomes not an option.
1. Chapter 1

Captain James Kirk was on the Bridge with his first officer, a Vulcan, Mr. Spock. They were both staring at the screen at the planet they had just gone into orbit with: Peritis VI.

"Didn't Mr. Andrews say he'd be contacted us shortly after we arrived in orbit from Star Base, Spock?" Captain Kirk questioned.

"Correct, Captain," Spock answered.

Captain Kirk looked back at the screen, wondering why Mr. Andrews hadn't called the Enterprise, yet.

"Captain, picking up a video call from Mr. Andrews." Sulu spoke.

"Put him on the main screen, Mr. Sulu." Captain Kirk answered.

A terrified, older man came up on the screen; he was a little older than Dr. Leonard McCoy, the Enterprise's Chief Medical Officer. He was panicked and terrified, deeply, based on the look in his eyes.

"Mr. Andrews, what is it," Captain Kirk questioned.

"Captain Kirk, go away from this planet; continue on to another planet!" Mr. Andrews cried.

"We were ordered by Starfleet Command to come here for a Category 1 distress signal they received. Surely, there must be something wrong down there." Captain Kirk answered.

"Don't come down here; you'll all die!" Mr. Andrews frantically shrieked.

Spock looked at the screen and raised his eyebrow.

"Mr. Andrews…what is it," Captain Kirk questioned.

Mr. Andrews turned to his left and began screaming and shrieking, before the connection was lost.

"Mr. Andrews…Mr. Andrews, can you hear me?!" Captain Kirk commanded.

The connection was lost and the planet and stars returned to the screen's view.

Captain Kirk rose from his chair, panicked.

"What happened, Spock," Captain Kirk questioned.

"Unknown, Captain; the connection was caught off before the scanners could detect anything." Spock answered.

"Something obviously is very wrong, down there." Captain Kirk replied.

"Captain, Mr. Andrews said it was too dangerous to come down to the planet's surface." Chekov exclaimed.

"It would be violating Starfleet Command code of honor to avoid and ignore a Category 1 distress call. Spock, you, I, Dr. McCoy, and Scotty will transport to the planet's surface to figure out what's going on down there and put an end to it. Just in case, make sure we have our finest communicators and phasers." Captain Kirk ordered.

"Affirmative, Captain," Spock replied.

Captain Kirk and Spock walked off of the Bridge and went down to Sickbay to grab Dr. McCoy.

In Sickbay…

Dr. McCoy was being Scotty's therapist, as he was having a once a day talk with Dr. McCoy. Scotty had started these talks with Dr. McCoy, when he became so stressed one day, he just needed to vent his feelings out to someone. Dr. McCoy had always been there to listen to him ever since and give him more than helpful advice.

"And just the fact of having the get up so early ever morning to report to duty is ridiculous; I feel like a packed mule, sometimes!" Scotty spoke, sadly to Dr. McCoy.

Dr. McCoy nodded, listening intently to Scotty.

"Have you ever told Jim this," Dr. McCoy spoke.

"No, McCoy; he'd have my head chopped off like a haggis on the 4th of July!" Scotty cried, making an American holiday reference.

"If you don't tell Jim how you feel, then you're never gonna feel better, Scotty." Dr. McCoy answered, softly.

"I know…but he's the Captain, McCoy."

"I know he is, Scotty; he also happens to be one of my three best friends. But, even friends and co. workers need to express their feelings once and a while."

"Yah think so, McCoy,"

"Trust me, Scotty; you'll feel a whole lot better after you do." 

Scotty smiled at Dr. McCoy and nodded, when Captain Kirk and Spock barged into Sickbay. 

"Bones, Scotty, grab your best phasers and communicators; we're going down to Peritis VI's surface." Captain Kirk ordered.

"Jim, I'm in the middle of a session with one of my patients." Dr. McCoy answered.

"You'll be in the middle of being fired, if you two don't move it." Captain Kirk commanded.

Dr. McCoy sighed and looked back at Scotty, sympathetically. He smiled, then patted Scotty's hand friendly.

"Don't worry; we'll continue where we left off, later." Dr. McCoy answered, with a friendly smile.

Scotty smiled and nodded.

"Thank yah, Dr. McCoy," Scotty replied.

Dr. McCoy nodded, and the two of them grabbed their equipment and followed Captain Kirk and Spock to the transportation room.


	2. Chapter 2

The four men had teleported down to the planet's surface, and it was extremely hot temperatures and humidity.

"Ooooof…Captain, this heat's ridiculous," Scotty commented.

"Yes, we'll have to take extra precautions to make sure all of us stay safe." Captain Kirk answered.

"Logically, the solution to this problem is to make sure we drink pretty of liquids." Spock replied.

"Had I known it was gonna be such hot weather, I would've had all of us bring down water bottles and sunscreen." Captain Kirk answered.

"I'm sure we can transport some down later, Captain." Scotty remarked.

While they discussed this situation, Dr. McCoy felt fatigue and dizzy. He gently sat himself onto a rock and put his hands on his face to make the spinning stop. He began having a horrible migraine and muscle aches and cramps, and felt awful weak.

The three men turned their attention to Dr. McCoy, when he made a soft moan.

"Bones…are you alright," Captain Kirk questioned, rushing to Dr. McCoy's side.

"Yeah…I'm fine, Jim…I just get a little sick in extreme heat, is all. I suffered from a bad case of heat exhaustion, when I was a teenager in Atlanta. I went to the beach one day with my friends Bobby and Todd, and we all went on a dare that we didn't need any water to drink." Dr. McCoy muttered, trying to not think of his headache, or just think in general.

"Just take it easy, Bones; Spock, stay close to Bones, as were walking." Captain Kirk commanded.

Spock nodded and helped Dr. McCoy to his feet.

"I'm alright, Spock; I just need to be left alone for a minute." Dr. McCoy answered, slightly irritated.

Spock left Dr. McCoy and went back to Captain Kirk and Scotty.

"Alright, men; let's go, then," Captain Kirk answered.

The four men started walking off further into the forest off to find the city, and Star Base headquarters, where the ship had lost connection with Mr. Andrews. Scotty stopped, when he spotted an editable type of berries he had learned about.

"Oh, Captain; look," Scotty cheered.

"Well, dig in, men," Captain Kirk spoke, happily.

Captain Kirk, Spock, and Scotty ate the berries, and Dr. McCoy ate one before feeling horribly nauseated and began softly gagging. He covered his mouth and walked off quickly to behind a boulder.

The three men turned around, and Dr. McCoy was back before they noticed he had left. Captain Kirk, Spock, and Scotty stared at Dr. McCoy; his skin was awful flushed, dried out, and there was no sign of sweating, though his shirt was soaked from the immense sweating he did a while back, as they were walking.

"Bones…are you sure are you alright?" Captain Kirk questioned, worried.

"I'm…fine," Dr. McCoy answered, sounding like he had just finished running a marathon.

"Yah sound if yah having trouble breathing," Scotty spoke, concerned.

"It's fine; this is normal for me, Scotty." Dr. McCoy answered, angry.

Captain Kirk and Scotty looked at each other, not exactly sure, then the four continued walking.

A few hours had passed by, and Captain Kirk felt they weren't getting any closer to the city.

"Captain, something's wrong with Dr. McCoy," Scotty cried.

Captain Kirk rushed over to where Spock was watching Dr. McCoy dance around a tree and singing. He then did a front flip, grabbed a twig on the ground, and began waving it around like a sword.

"Ehy yah," Dr. McCoy wailed, as if he were a ninja.

"What's wrong with him, sir?" Scotty questioned worried.

"He appears to experiencing a type of hallucination." Spock answered.

"He's acting awful strange ever since we got here." Captain Kirk answered.

"Dr. McCoy," Scotty cried.

Dr. McCoy seemed to snap out of it and turned to face Scotty.

"Did you say something, Scotty?" Dr. McCoy questioned.

"Are yah feeling alright, sir?" Scotty spoke.

"I told you I'm fine…stop worrying about me!" Dr. McCoy growled.

"Bones, you're giving labored breaths, again." Captain Kirk spoke, worried.

"For crying out loud, would you just…" Dr. McCoy stopped in the middle of his rant, when he seemed to be gazing at something in the horizon.

"What is it, Bones," Captain Kirk questioned.

Dr. McCoy simply pointed at what was ahead of him.

Captain Kirk, Spock, and Scotty all turned around and saw a 50 ft. spider in the horizon, tearing down houses. It was big, black, and had a red marking on its back.

"It's a giant black widow," Scotty cried.

"Quick, into the woods," Captain Kirk ordered.

The four men ran into the woods to avoid the creature from seeing them.

"Is it just me, Captain, or do you think we found the thing that's caused Peritis VI to have to send a Category 1 distress call?" Spock asked.

"I think we found the answer, Spock." Captain Kirk replied.


	3. Chapter 3

"Did yah see the size of that spider, Captain?!" Scotty exclaimed.

"I did, Scotty," Captain Kirk answered.

"What are we gonna do, Captain,"

"Spock,"

"I highly doubt our phasers are any match for that spider we've just witnessed." Spock answered.

"What do we use to defend ourselves, then?" Scotty questioned.

Captain Kirk looked over to where Dr. McCoy was lying underneath a tree, where he was taking a nap.

"Hey, Bones; wake up; we need your help, over here." Captain Kirk spoke.

Dr. McCoy didn't answer.

"Bones," Captain Kirk commanded.

Dr. McCoy again didn't respond; he just simply continued to lay there.

Spock got up and knelt down next to Dr. McCoy; he began examining him.

"Captain, the doctor's pulse is almost 206.72 beats per minute, and his temperature is exactly 109.67° F." Spock answered.

"Dear God, get him into that cave, over there." Captain Kirk ordered.

Spock and Scotty carried Dr. McCoy into the cool cave, with Captain Kirk following.

"Enterprise, teleport us up; medical emergency," Captain Kirk ordered.

"Captain, the teleporter isn't working; we can only teleport things down." Sulu answered.

"Spock, what do you recommend for use?" Captain Kirk questioned.

"A pillow, a thin blanket, an ice pack, and any medicine that can help reduce the fever." Spock replied.

Captain Kirk ordered the immediate teleportation of those medicines. Within seconds, the equipment was teleported down. Spock grabbed and lay Dr. McCoy's head gently down on the pillow that rested on a smooth rock for back support.

Dr. McCoy fluttered his eyes open, slightly.

"Where…where…where am I," Dr. McCoy muttered, softly, somewhat out of it.

"Just take it easy, Bones," Captain Kirk spoke, friendly.

"Doctor, you are suffering from a heat stroke." Spock answered.

"Ugh…pa…li…curtain…uga…bugda," Dr. McCoy muttered.

Dr. McCoy suddenly lost consciousness, again.

"Bones," Captain Kirk questioned.

No answer.

"Bones,"

Nothing.

"Bones,"

"Fever 110.4° F, and rising," Spock spoke, using Dr. McCoy's tricorder.

"Scotty, remove his shirt, and cover him lightly with the blanket." Captain Kirk ordered.

Scotty removed Dr. McCoy's shirt and lightly covered him with the blanket, his hand resting on his belly. Spock placed the ice pack on Dr. McCoy's head and gave him a shot to stabilize him from having a seizure.

"Will he be alright, Spock," Captain Kirk questioned.

"It's hard to say; he's not in a coma, but in a deep state of unconsciousness, almost like a coma." Spock answered.

"Bones, Bones…Bones, can you hear me?!" Captain Kirk pleaded.

Dr. McCoy didn't answer.

"He won't respond to any type of communication, Captain; his fever's too high." Spock answered.

"Can you do a mind meld, Spock?" Captain Kirk begged.

"Negative, Captain; it could do more harm to the doctor than already at stake." Spock remarked.

"He'll be alright, right, Mr. Spock?" Scotty questioned.

"If his fever continues to rise like this, his body will overheat, and he will die." Spock replied.

"There's gotta be something we can do to help him!"

"We've done everything we can that's able to be done down here. We need to get him to Sickbay back on the ship for a for sure guarantee of survival, and even then there could be serious mental trauma."

"Like what, Spock," Captain Kirk questioned.

"Blindness, deafness, inability to speak, paralysis, the list could continue," Spock answered.

"None sound good,"

"None are, Captain,"

"Spock, you and I will go to the city to destroy the spider; Scotty, you stay here with Dr. McCoy and take care of him."

"Captain, I know nothing about medicine! I'm an Engineer, not a doctor!" Scotty cried.

"Use the communicator to communicate with Sickbay; they'll tell you what to do." Captain Kirk ordered.

Scotty sighed.

"Aye, Captain," Scotty answered.

Captain Kirk turned back to Dr. McCoy and put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Get better, Bones," Captain Kirk spoke, softly.

Dr. McCoy remained unconscious.

"Come on, Spock," Captain Kirk spoke.

Spock followed, and him and Captain Kirk both left the cave off to find the city and see what had happened to Mr. Andrews, as Scotty was left behind, now playing the role of doctor.

Somewhere else…

Captain Kirk and Spock were wandering around, when they spotted lights.

"Is that the city," Captain Kirk questioned.

"I believe so, Captain," Spock replied.

"Let's go then, Spock," Captain Kirk answered.

The two started towards the city to investigate what was going on with this place.


	4. Chapter 4

Captain Kirk and Spock walked through a laminated city full of pretty lights and buildings, but the city was more than dead with silence. There was no one roaming the streets and stores and restaurants seemed vacant.

"Spock, is your tricorder picking up any life forms?" Captain Kirk questioned, anxious.

"None in this sector, Captain; all signs of life seem to be non existing." Spock answered.

"What could've killed so many people?"

Spock shrugged his shoulders.

The two of them continued walking and found no registering signs of life around them. Captain Kirk and Spock stopped, when they spotted someone laying in what appeared to be the city square. The two ran over to him and turned the man over. Spock knelt down and checked for vital signs.

"He's dead, Jim," Spock answered.

"From what," Captain Kirk questioned, softly.

"Unknown,"

"But he seems unharmed in any sort of way."

Spock noticed something lower on his left leg.

"Captain," Spock stated, pointing at something.

Captain Kirk looked down at where Spock was pointing and saw a huge bite in his leg, from what appeared to come from fangs of some huge animal.

"He's got a bite," Captain Kirk stated.

"Not just any bite; a spider bite…specifically the one you'd find from a black widow bite." Spock answered.

"You mean that huge spider we saw back in the fields is why all these people are dead?!" Captain Kirk exclaimed.

"That seems to be the most logical explanation at the moment, Captain." Spock replied.

Captain Kirk grabbed out his communicator.

"Scotty…Scotty, come in, Scotty," Captain Kirk ordered.

Back at the cave…

Scotty was tending to Dr. McCoy, following orders from Dr. M'Benga from Sickbay about how to treat Dr. McCoy for his dangerously rising fever.

"I've given him the IV, Dr. M'Benga; it seems to be staying in." Scotty spoke.

"Good; keep spraying him with water and cooling him as much as he can. Also, watch his heart rate and breathing; you may need to perform CPR, if he enters cardiac arrest." Dr. M'Benga spoke.

"Cardiac arrest," Scotty cried.

"I'll instruct you through it, if worse comes to worse, don't worry."

"I hope that doesn't happen, sir,"

Scotty's communicator got another beep.

"Hold on, Dr. M'Benga; I'm getting another call," Scotty put Dr. M'Benga on hold and answered his other incoming call. "Scott, here,"

"Scotty, how's Dr. McCoy doing," Captain Kirk questioned.

"Still unconscious, sir; his fever doesn't wanna go down, either."

"What has Sickbay told you to do,"

"I've got an IV running in his arm, but it may not be the trick, Captain."

"Keep doing everything you can, until we're able to beam back aboard, Scotty."

"Aye, sir,"

"Kirk out,"

Scotty went back to his call with Dr. M'Benga.

"Back, Dr. M'Benga," Scotty spoke.

Back in the city…

Captain Kirk hung up, sadly.

"I assume Dr. McCoy's condition isn't getting better, Captain." Spock stated.

"His fever refuses to go down; Spock, unless we can get Bones back to the ship…who knows what'll happen to him." Captain Kirk stuttered, worried.

"Negativity is not logical at this time, Captain." Spock answered.

"I wish I could be there with him,"

"Captain, I understand your feelings for the doctor, but this needs our immediate attention, due to the given circumstances."

Captain Kirk nodded.

"Let's go, Spock," He simply stated.

Spock followed Captain Kirk, when they stopped in front of the Star Base quarters of Peritis VI. Captain Kirk opened the door and let Spock go in first, then quickly followed. The lights were off and many bodies lay on the ground, dead.

"Spock," Captain Kirk questioned.

"Dead, Captain…all dead," Spock replied.

"I can't believe this spider…has killed this many people."

"It is shocking, Captain,"

"How did this spider even get here, Spock?"

"Unless we can get close to examine the spider without it seeing us, figuring out the piece of the puzzle is not possible."

"If only we could find Mr. Andrews,"

"Captain, by what we've seen so far, it's logical to think that the spider got Mr. Andrews."

"I'll believe it, when I see it, Spock."

"Understood, Captain,"

Captain Kirk's communicator began making an unfamiliar noise, but it sounded bad.

"What's it doing," Captain Kirk questioned, grabbing out his communicator.

"I don't know, Captain," Spock answered.

Captain Kirk flipped his communicator open.

"Kirk, here," Captain Kirk spoke.

"Captain," Scotty wailed; Captain Kirk instantly knew something was deadly wrong.

"Scotty, what is it, Scotty…answer me, Scotty!" Captain Kirk barked.

"Dr. McCoy…his heat stroke's turned into an actual stroke!" Scotty wailed.

Captain Kirk nearly dropped dead right there in the building.


	5. Chapter 5

Dr. M'Benga had beamed down several things of medical equipment, and Spock tended to Dr. McCoy, as Captain Kirk and Scotty stood back from yonder and watched.

Spock had rose after placing the oxygen assistance in Dr. McCoy's nose, added new medicine into the IV, heart monitors, a new ice pack, a new Starfleet shirt that was thin and a t-shirt, and soft blankets and pillows underneath him to make him more comfortable. After double checking everything, Spock walked over to Captain Kirk and Scotty.

"Will he be alright, Spock," Captain Kirk questioned.

"His fever has risen to a temperature of 112.264° F…as of now, Dr. McCoy's condition is extremely critical. His fever must go down, or he will die or suffer from severe brain damage." Spock answered.

"Is there anything yah can do, Mr. Spock?" Scotty begged.

"We must get Dr. McCoy to an area with cool temperatures and out of this heat." Spock spoke.

Captain Kirk flipped his communicator open.

"Mr. Sulu, can you teleport us from one spot to another on the planet?" Captain Kirk questioned.

"Where to, Captain," Sulu questioned.

"Teleport us to the nearest hospital on Peritis VI in a cool room. Dr. McCoy is suffering from a stroke and has a temperature of 112 degrees."

"Aye yi, sir,"

The four of them teleported from the cave and to a hospital room with no lights on and had was slightly chilly for Captain Kirk and Scotty. Spock was able to adjust to the change in temperature quite well. Dr. McCoy lay in the hospital bed, covered with thin sheets and blankets.

"It's freezing in here, Captain," Scotty cried.

"This must have been another place the spider attacked." Captain Kirk answered.

"We should check out the place,"

"Spock, come on,"

"I must stay here with Dr. McCoy in his condition."

Captain Kirk nodded.

"Spock…take good care of him," Captain Kirk softly spoke, more like pleading.

Spock nodded.

"I will do what's possible, Captain." Spock replied.

Captain Kirk nodded, and him and Scotty left Spock and Dr. McCoy, and walked off to another part of the hospital.

Spock turned back to Dr. McCoy, who continued to lay there motionless and unconscious. Spock spotted something that looked like an ancient record player from the 1950s' on earth. Spock picked up a disc, put it on the player, and pressed play, and some soft jazz began to play. He knew the doctor was fond of older music tunes, so decided it might wake him up, if he listened to something comforting.

Spock sat back down on a chair and grabbed his communicator out.

"Spock to Dr. M'Benga…I think it be wise, if you were to beam down here." Spock spoke, firmly.

In the hospital hallways…

Captain Kirk and Scotty scanned around the area, their phasers out ready to attack at any moment. The two of them heard what sounded like scratching on the walls.

"Captain, what was that," Scotty whispered, worried.

"I don't know, Scotty," Captain Kirk replied.

The two men continued walking down the hospital hallways, when the scratching sound returned.

"Captain…what is that," Scotty exclaimed, softly.

"Stay here," Captain Kirk answered, sensing something wrong.

Captain Kirk walked down farther down the halls to examine what was causing the scratching noise. He went down another hall and saw a cord hanging out of the wall. He picked it up, scanned it, and plugged it in, when the lights and machines began working.

"Huh, well I found the power source, I guess." Captain Kirk answered, and continued walking, when he heard the scratching coming from behind of him. Captain Kirk paused and turned around, then gasped; he saw a man just standing there, gazing at him. His eyes were cold and soulless, his skin white as paper and bloodshot red eyes, black circles surrounding his eyes. Captain Kirk walked slightly closer to him, but not much, and looked at him more closely.

"Can I help you, sir," Captain Kirk asked, cautious.

The man didn't respond.

"Sir…I'm Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise; I come in peace. Do you know about anything of a huge black widow or why your people keep dying?"

The man moaned, as if he were a zombie.

Captain Kirk froze and slowly raised his phaser out in pointing range.

"I will resort to violence, if necessary, though." He warned, sounding a little unsure of himself.

The man started walking closer to him, and Captain Kirk started backing away slowly, when he heard a phaser go off and the man fell down in front him, revealing Scotty standing behind him. Captain Kirk ran over to him and checked for a pulse, then looked up at Scotty.

"He's dead, Scotty," Captain Kirk answered.

"Impossible; I had my phaser set to stun, sir." Scotty remarked.

"Then something else killed him," Captain Kirk replied.

"But what, Captain,"

"I don't know, Scotty; Spock would be able to tell us."

Back in the hospital room…

Spock and Dr. M'Benga tended to Dr. McCoy, who's fever refused to go down, but thankfully, it was no longer going up.

"What are his chances of survival, Dr. M'Benga?" Spock questioned.

"At this point, it's hard to say; it'll be a miracle, if he survives this kinda fever." Dr. M'Benga responded.

"And even then there are chances of mental trauma."

"Correct, Mr. Spock; he could be blind, deaf, unable to speak, move, or worse: all of the above."

"Is there anything here you can do for him…especially now that we have power for some unknown reason?"

"Since we're in a hospital setting, lots can be done for him, now. And thank you, again, for notifying me to come down."

"Only made what was a logical decision, Dr. M'Benga."

Dr. M'Benga nodded and the two of them went back to tending to Dr. McCoy.

They saw Dr. McCoy move his head around and beginning to give labored breaths and gasping for air.

"He's having trouble breathing, Dr. M'Benga." Spock answered.

"Raise the dosage of oxygen, Mr. Spock," Dr. M'Benga replied.

Spock increased the dosage of oxygen, and Dr. McCoy settled down shortly after.

"How long does he have for the fever to go down, before we know for sure he'll wake up with brain damage?" Spock questioned.

Dr. M'Benga was silent for a long moment.

"If his fever doesn't go down in about another four hours…Dr. McCoy _won't _wake up." Dr. M'Benga stated, firmly.

Spock nodded and both of them went back to caring for Dr. McCoy.


	6. Chapter 6

Captain Kirk and Scotty were in the hospital's morgue, performing an autopsy via a book Scotty had found in the medical library and read the steps, as Captain Kirk performed it.

Captain Kirk and Scott were covered from head to toe in scrubs outfits and surgical wear.

"What's next, Scotty," Captain Kirk questioned; his voice was muffled due to the surgical mask on his face.

"Move to the head and examine for any damages on the exterior surface." Scotty answered, his voice muffled.

Captain Kirk began examining the top of the head, when Scotty got woozy and collapsed the ground. Captain Kirk looked over briefly for a moment at what appeared to be Scotty, then went back to proceeding with the next step to the autopsy.

In the hospital hallways…

"Are yah sure, Captain," Scotty questioned, holding an ice pack to his head, from when he passed out.

"Positive; the black widow's venom is so powerful, it has an almost exact replica of the venom described that Dracula has in the great old story by Bram Stoker. The venom kills the person for a certain time frame, then they return in an immortal state, then the venom again will kill them after that stage has worn off." Captain Kirk answered.

"Yah sound like Mr. Spock, Captain," Scotty cried.

"You have a Vulcan for a first officer for so long, is starts to sink in after a while, Scotty." Captain Kirk replied.

Scotty nodded, and the two men continued on walking to another part of the hospital. The two exited out the main entrance and into the vacant night. No lights, no sounds, no people…no nothing; just pure silence.

"It's a shame this city had to suffer such tragedy; it seems like it would've been such a beauty." Scotty sighed.

"I saw pictures of this city in books back at the Academy; it was certainly beautiful. It's too bad we couldn't be here sooner to end this before it got this far." Captain Kirk answered, sadly.

"It's not our fault, Captain, yah gotta know that." Scotty remarked.

"What about Bones,"

"That isn't yah fault, either; Dr. McCoy is in good hands. Spock will make sure he gets the best care possible."

"I wish I just had a guarantee for him that Dr. McCoy will be alright."

"Strokes are complicated things, Captain; even Dr. McCoy once said he wasn't a specialist with the diseases and illnesses that affect the brain, and that's coming from one of ten top graduates of Mississippi University Medical School."

Captain Kirk nodded; he didn't wanna think of the possibility of what might happen to his beloved friend, but acknowledged it in the back of his mind, and the two men continued walking around the city looking around for something that could help them defeat the spider infesting the planet of Peritis VI.

Back at the hospital…

Dr. M'Benga took a thermometer out of Dr. McCoy's mouth and looked at it, and sighed with relief.

"107.6° F," Dr. M'Benga spoke, relieved.

"His fever's going down," Spock answered.

Both of them began to hear Dr. McCoy gasp for air. Both men ran over to Dr. McCoy's bedside to check and see if he was alright.

"Spa…Spock," Dr. McCoy gasped.

"Relax, Leonard; you're alright," Dr. M'Benga softly spoke.

"Spock…Jim…" Dr. McCoy gasped.

"Just go to sleep, Doctor," Spock answered.

"Spock…Jim…" Dr. McCoy fell back to sleep shortly after.

"Delirium," Spock questioned.

"A form of it," Dr. M'Benga replied.

"Common for fevers to cause,"

Dr. M'Benga nodded.

"Especially one of 107.6 degrees," Dr. M'Benga replied.

"It's lower than before," Spock answered.

"It's still not a good fever, though,"

"Dr. M'Benga, I must say your statement is illogical, as no fever is a good fever."

"Yes, Mr. Spock, just making a simple figure of speech."

"Never did understand the concepts of those."

Dr. M'Benga flipped open his communicator.

"Dr. M'Benga to Captain Kirk; Dr. M'Benga to Captain Kirk," Dr. M'Benga called.

"Captain Kirk, here," Captain Kirk answered.

"Captain, I'm here with Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy." Dr. M'Benga replied.

"That's great, Dr. M'Benga; how's Bones's doing?"

"His fever's 107.6, but still awful high,"

"Better than before,"

"Technically speaking; his body can't handle much more of this, Captain. His fever must go down to at least 101, or he will for sure die from overheating or the possibility of another stroke."

"Is there anything you can do to prevent another stroke from occurring?"

"Dr. M'Benga," Spock stated.

Dr. M'Benga turned around and paused; Dr. McCoy was beginning to shake and rattle in his bed.

"Gotta go, Captain," Dr. M'Benga ordered.

"Dr. M'Benga," Captain Kirk tried to shout, but Dr. M'Benga had closed his communicator and rushed to Dr. McCoy's side.

"He's having an epileptic seizure; it's the fever. As soon as it ends, run an MRI on him for brain damage." Dr. M'Benga gasped.

Spock nodded and walked off to grab an MRI machine, as Dr. M'Benga sat next to Dr. McCoy, as he continued to suffer from his seizure.

"Come on, Leonard; hold on there, bud," Dr. M'Benga softly spoke.


	7. Chapter 7

Captain Kirk and Scotty continued walking around, when they stopped and saw buildings covered in spider webs.

"Am I the only one that finds this disturbing?" Scotty questioned.

"No…this would classify as disturbing, alright." Captain Kirk answered.

The two kept walking, when they stopped and saw something that was the most disturbing of all. It was a spider web attached to the side of two buildings, blocking the entrance into an alley. It read 'LEAVE, CAPTAIN KIRK AND CREW, OR ELSE'.

Scotty shuddered.

"Captain, I think that's our signal to leave." Scotty quivered.

"No, Scotty; we can't abandon orders given by Starfleet Command." Captain Kirk answered.

"I think they'd understand this kinda situation, sir."

"We can't get back to the ship, anyways, until the teleporter is repaired, so we might as well continue with our mission."

Scotty nodded and the two fired their phasers at the web, destroying it, and walked through the alley into another part of the city.

"Where do we head to now, Captain?" Scotty questioned.

"Let's go down this way," Captain Kirk spoke, pointing to the right.

Him and Scotty walked down farther into the city, which was now turning into what seemed to look like the bad parts of cities with old buildings, graffiti, and where gangs would've hung out…if there were still people to make up gangs.

"Scotty," Captain Kirk began.

"Aye, Captain," Scotty remarked.

"Do you think Mr. Andrews is dead?"

"I wouldn't be surprised, if he were, Captain; I'm sorry to say."

Captain Kirk nodded, and the two continued walking down the streets of the city. The two stopped, when they came face to face with the giant black widow just meters away from them.

"Captain," Scotty whispered, wheezy; his anxiety had just kicked in on overdrive.

"I see it alright, Scotty," Captain Kirk said, gulping; he knew exactly what Scotty was going to ask of him.

"What do we do, Captain," Scotty quivered.

"Just slowly back away; maybe it won't notice us, if we're lucky." Captain Kirk whispered back.

The two men tip toed back slower than turtles, as they prayed they would reach safety in another part of the city. Scotty was unfortunate and stepped on a bike horn, yelped for help, and fell to the ground.

"Scotty," Captain Kirk snapped, in a whisper.

"Sorry, Captain," Scotty whispered back.

The two of them turned to face the spider, and it had heard Scotty fall. It turned its head towards them and stared at them with its beady red eyes.

Captain Kirk helped Scotty to his feet, and the two didn't make a single movement.

The spider hissed at them, making them start running for their lives, when they ran into someone in the streets.

"Who are you," Captain Kirk questioned, pointing his phaser at the man. He looked about in his late 50s'-early 60s'.

The man quivered and wept.

"Let's go; it'll kill us all!" The man sobbed.

Captain Kirk and Scotty turned around and noticed the spider approaching closer towards them.

"Let's go, Scotty," Captain Kirk ordered.

The three men ran to safety, and the spider luckily didn't see them.

***I'm having a major issue on how I should get rid of the spider. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know! I'll even favorite/follow you, if I pick your idea as the one to use! **


	8. Chapter 8

As Spock was examining something at a desk, Dr. M'Benga gave a small smile, looking at the thermometer reading from Dr. McCoy.

"Well, I guess that seizure saved his life; look at this, Mr. Spock." Dr. M'Benga spoke, pleased.

Spock rose and walked over to Dr. M'Benga.

"Exactly 98.6° F," Dr. M'Benga answered, with a smile.

"Indeed back to good health," Spock answered.

Dr. McCoy fluttered his eyes open.

"Hey, Leonard; how are you feeling?" Dr. M'Benga questioned.

Dr. McCoy gave a frail smile.

"Tired, but I'll be alright…thank you…for saving my life." Dr. McCoy spoke, sincerely.

"Just doing my job, Leonard." Dr. M'Benga answered.

"Spock…where's Jim and Scotty,"

Spock let out a sigh.

"The captain and Mr. Scott are out chasing down a spider." Spock replied.

Dr. McCoy softly chuckled.

"A spider…seriously, Spock, what is it?" He asked, as if it were a joke.

"The spider, Doctor; you saw it in the field before collapsing and suffering heat stroke." Spock replied.

Dr. McCoy looked around surprised.

"This isn't Sickbay…where am I," Dr. McCoy questioned, worried.

"Leonard, what do you remember?" Dr. M'Benga questioned.

Dr. McCoy tried thinking back to his memories.

"I remember…beaming down from the ship…and…I started to get sick from the heat…I remember laying down under a tree…then I don't know." Dr. McCoy answered.

"What happened before you laid down under the tree?" Spock questioned.

"…nothing, Spock,"

Dr. M'Benga nodded.

"Just a slight bit of memory loss, but nothing too major." Dr. M'Benga answered.

"So, he doesn't remember the spider at all." Spock stated.

"Right,"

"Will he, eventually,"

"I don't think so, Mr. Spock; that fever he suffered from was enough to kill him. I'm not surprised he doesn't remember much. He knows who we are and everything else besides that one snippet of memory, which I must say is pretty good, medical wise."

"Agreed, Doctor,"

"What are you so intently working on over there?"

"I'm trying to find an anecdote for which will destroy the spider."

"Any luck, Mr. Spock,"

"Negative, Dr. M'Benga; so far, I can only think of such a strong venom, even stronger than the spider's own."

"Just use insecticide," Dr. McCoy mumbled, falling back to sleep.

"Just ignore him," Dr. M'Benga quietly spoke.

"Actually, Dr. M'Benga, Dr. McCoy may actually be onto something." Spock answered, beginning to think of something.


	9. Chapter 9

Captain Kirk, Scotty, and the man were hiding in a store that had been destroyed by the spider. The power was out and things on the shelves and shelves themselves had been destroyed to smithereens. Scotty sat down on a ripped up couch, and Captain Kirk sat on what remained of a stool, as the man just simply stood there, weeping.

"What is your name, sir," Captain Kirk ordered.

"Steve," Steve answered.

"I'm Captain Jim Kirk of the USS Enterprise; this is my Chief Engineering Officer, Montgomery Scott."

"I know who you are, Captain; where's your first officer, that Vulcan guy, and the older, southern gentleman?"

"Spock is with Dr. Atticus M'Benga at a local hospital here caring for Dr. Leonard McCoy…the southern gentleman. He sadly has suffered a heat stroke that turned into an actual stroke…he's in critical condition, for the moment's notice."

"Oh…I'm deeply sorry,"

"How are yah alive; surely that spider shoulda got yah by now!" Scotty cried.

"Do you know a Mr. Jackson Andrews?" Captain Kirk questioned.

Steve began sobbing, again.

"He was my boss…he's the reason I'm alive!" Steve sobbed.

"What happened, lad," Scotty questioned.

"There was an entomologist that came with us to Peritis VI to research cures for deadly black widow bites. He was from Aries III, and I'm sure you know all about their medical knowledge." Steve answered.

"My Chief Medical Officer is quite familiar with the medical knowledge of Aries III; it's very limited, indeed." Captain Kirk answered.

"There was a lab experiment that went terribly wrong…the spider grew about 50 ft. tall and started attacking the entire city…Mr. Andrews sent me to go hide in a bathroom across the hall from his office, when the spider came through the window…I remember….those…blood curdling screams he made." Steve broke down. "After about an hour, he came out of his office…in an immortal state of some sort…I had to…kill him with my phaser!"

"You did what was best for Mr. Andrews," Captain Kirk spoke, sadly.

"Now that spider's out there…waiting for more people to kill…and there isn't anymore!"

"Just take it easy, Steve,"

Captain Kirk stood up and walked over to Scotty.

"Scotty, try contacting the ship's Engineering room; see if the transporter's working, yet. The sooner we get Steve to Sickbay, the better." Captain Kirk replied.

Scotty nodded and pulled out his communicator.

"Scott to Enterprise, Scott to Enterprise, come in, Enterprise," Scotty spoke.

"Helmsman Sulu, here, Mr. Scott," Sulu answered.

"Mr. Sulu, is the transporter working, yet?"

As Sulu was about to answer, Captain Kirk's communicator began beeping. He walked away from Scotty to answer it.

"Kirk, here," Captain Kirk replied.

"Captain, it's Spock, here," Spock spoke.

"Spock, how's Dr. McCoy," Captain Kirk replied, worried.

"Dr. McCoy is doing fine; his temperature is back to normal, and the transporter's working, again. We beamed back to Sickbay just a while ago."

"Spock…that's the best news I've received in quite some time since getting here, now."

"He's tired, but resting well in his quarters and should be able to report back to duty in about two days, four hours, twenty two minutes, and forty nine point six seven seconds."

"Thank you, Mr. Spock; I have a man here that I would like to beamed up to Sickbay and had a mental evaluation done on immediately. He's emotionally unstable, depressed, and anxiety ridden."

"Affirmative, Captain,"

"Spock, beam down to our coordinates, too; we could use your knowledge to defeat this thing we're dealing with."

"On my way, Captain,"

"Thank you, Spock; Kirk, out,"

Captain Kirk hung up the communicator and walked back to Scotty.

"Spock will be beaming down momentarily, and Steve will be beamed up to Sickbay." Captain Kirk stated.

"How's Dr. McCoy," Scotty asked, anxious.

"He'll be fine, tired, but will be fine,"

"Oh, thank yah, God,"

Captain Kirk and Scotty looked over in a corner and saw Spock appear with two doctors. Spock walked over to Captain Kirk and Scotty, and the two doctors went to Steve.

"Who are you two…what do you want?!" Steve cried.

"It's alright, Steve; they're gonna take care of you." Captain Kirk answered.

"I wanna live, I wanna live, I wanna live," Steve sobbed.

"Beam us aboard, Mr. Sulu," Dr. Emerson ordered with his communicator.

The three men were beamed up to the ship, leaving only Scotty, Spock, and Captain Kirk to themselves.


	10. Chapter 10

Captain Kirk, Spock, and Scotty walked through the empty streets, as the sun began to set and night was falling.

"Spock, do you have an idea of what we should do?" Captain Kirk questioned.

"Not an idea, but a theory," Spock replied.

"A theory; Mr. Spock, yah always have an idea!" Scotty cried.

"What is your theory, Spock?" Captain Kirk replied.

"Spiders can be killed with insecticide," Spock answered.

"That's right, Spock," Captain Kirk remarked.

"Where are we gonna find that much insecticide, Captain?!" Scotty wailed.

Captain Kirk flipped open his communicator.

"Mr. Sulu, beam us up on the ship," Captain Kirk answered.

"Aye yi, sir," Sulu answered.

The three of them were suddenly back on the ship.

In the break room…

Captain Kirk, Spock, and Scotty sat around the table going through a plan in their minds.

"Dr. McCoy remembers nothing of the spider," Scotty questioned.

"Nothing; the fever was enough to cause minor memory loss; he knows everything else that occurred, but the spider is not part of his memories. Dr. M'Benga says it never will return, either; he's lucky enough to even be alive after suffering from such a fever." Spock answered.

"I'll say so," Scotty answered.

"Back to the problem at hands, men." Captain Kirk ordered.

The two men nodded and went back to Captain Kirk.

"We need to figure out how to create enough insecticide to kill that filthy vermin that's intoxicating the planet below." Captain Kirk growled.

"And save the rest of the people in the area from any further damage." Scotty answered.

"Scotty…there _is _no one else in that sector of the planet; everyone but Steve is dead and gone."

"Dr. McCoy is alive and recovering, and you did save one life, Captain." Spock added.

"And I'm glad that Bones is gonna be okay, and Steve will be taken to a hospital to recover on Star Base 17...just…so many other lives that were lost…most didn't even deserve to die." Captain Kirk stated.

"No one deserved it, Captain, but it's done and over with, now. We can't change the past, and we have no way of telling the future. We only have today and right now." Scotty answered.

Captain Kirk sighed, then came up with an idea.

He pushed a button on the computer.

"Dr. M'Benga; how much cyanide powder do you have in supply?" Captain Kirk questioned.

"Quite a bit, Captain; why?" Dr. M'Benga questioned.

"Meet Scotty in Engineering with it; I want you to put as much of it as possible into the phaser banks. I intend on getting rid of this thing down there." Captain Kirk snarled.

"Captain, that's enough to kill the entire sector, though!" Dr. M'Benga cried.

"Everyone in the sector _is _dead! Just do it, Dr. M'Benga," Captain Kirk hollered.

He turned off communications and glared at Spock and Scotty. Scotty sighed and nodded, then left to go to Engineering. Spock got up and approached Captain Kirk.

"Jim…you can't blame yourself for what happened; this wasn't your fault, nor the crew." Spock replied, calmly.

Captain Kirk was very silent for quite sometime.

"I wanna see Bones," Captain Kirk whimpered.

Spock nodded and escorted Captain Kirk to Dr. McCoy's quarters.


End file.
